Tigers’ Eelam: Nothing ‘Hindu’ or ‘Tamil’ about it

“LTTE Chief Prabhakaran was inspired by Bhagwat Gita; he was greatly enamoured of the principles enunciated in the Gita; his motto was ‘do your duty but do not expect any benefit from it.’ He found his ideology from the song depicting the discourse between Arjuna and Krishna in the Tamil film ‘Karna.’ The Itihasa-Mahabharata enthralled him. The characters he identified with were Bhima and Karna. He believed that in order to fight evil and establish dharma, it is essential to eliminate one’s enemies.”
(http://www.expressbuzz.comeditionstory.aspx?title=Prabhakaran%20was%20inspired%20by%20Gita&artid=ItENrbNWK4I=&type)
 

“The Indian freedom struggle fascinated him. He read the Tamil version of Mahatma Gandhi’s autobiography “Satya Sodhanai” (Experiment with Truth) in his early teens but was not enamoured by it greatly.”

“His ideal and idol was Netaji or Subhash Chandra Bose. Netaji had ideological differences with the Mahatma about the mode of struggle for independence. At one stage he disapproved of Gandhi’s “non-violence” and went on to form the Indian National Army (INA) to launch an armed struggle against the British.”
 

“Apart from Netaji, Prabhakaran was also impressed by the Sikh freedom fighter Bhagat Singh and two other freedom fighters from Tamil Nadu namely Vaanchinathan and Thiruppur Kumaran” (http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=15769930).
 

“Prabhakaran also read the Tamil translations of Swami Vivekananda’s writings and speeches avidly. Another spiritual person he looked up to was Thirumuga Kirupananda Vaariyaar popularly called ‘Vaariyaar.’”
 

All these informations, which were not in the public domain for the last three decades,  have suddenly emanated from nowhere after his death.
 

The latest canard is that the LTTE represented the “Hindu” Tamils of Sri Lanka.
(http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124466281725103177.html).
 

A serious analysis on Prabhakaran’s activities would clearly reveal that neither he nor his actions were anywhere near the impressive list given above! Then why are such canards being spread?
 

It seems that the western Christian nations and their paid agents in India, Sri Lanka and elsewhere are bent upon giving a “Hindu” colour to the LTTE with the purpose of branding it as a “Hindu Terrorist” outfit, especially at a time when the Christian hand behind the Tamil Eelam and its full fledged support to LTTE has been categorically established in the geo-political arena.
 

Damaging Diaspora
 

An extremely devious game is being played by Christian hands which rally behind the Sri Lankan Diaspora while simultaneously aiding so-called Tamil organizations. Even after the defeat of LTTE and the liquidation of its top leadership, the Sri Lankan Diaspora, prodded by the western powers, has been harping on the demand for separate Tamil Eelam. The diaspora has gone to the extent of calling itself future “Tamil Tigers” and saying it would achieve the objective of “Tamil Eelam” at any cost.

Wikipedia says, “The Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora is difficult to explain in one example. It was neither a continuous process nor a sudden one. It cannot be attributed to a single circumstance or incident. In fact, even the history of migration of Sri Lankan Tamils in each country is different and has to be read and understood separately.”

However, to simplify, it divides the Sri Lankan Diaspora into three distinctive periods as British Colonial Period, Pre-1983, and Post-1983. The most important observation by Wikipedia is that, ‘the Sri Lankan Tamils tended to differentiate themselves from emigrant Indian Tamils in the host countries by their caste, socio-economic status, unique Sri Lankan Tamil dialects, religious practices and food and cultural habits.’
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lankan_Tamil_diaspora).

This tendency to differentiate themselves from the Indian Tamil Diaspora, which integrated well with ‘Hindu’ communities from other parts of India, could have helped Christian establishments to influence them, as evidenced by the ‘Christian’ leadership of the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora in almost all countries, particularly in Canada, France, Germany, UK and the US.

The Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora’s strength is considerable in Canada (400,000), UK (300,000), France (100,000) Germany (60,000), Australia (53,000), US (35,000) and Italy (24,000). It is rather painful to note that the Diaspora is in no mood of reconciliation, exhibiting its lack of concern for the millions of civilian Tamils suffering in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora seems more bothered about continuing the terror legacy of LTTE and enjoying refugee status in the host countries, thereby allowing the present LTTE leadership to enjoy the wealth amassed over the years, than finding a peaceful settlement for the tormented Tamil community in the northern / eastern part of Sri Lanka.
 

The Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora comprises Hindus and considerable numbers of Catholics and Protestants. Christian organizations which support the LTTE covertly, take care to keep the Diaspora under its control through the LTTE. Analyzing the widespread support enjoyed by the LTTE in the Diaspora, journalist Nirmala Rajasingham noted, “The LTTE in the course of its military and political campaign decimated all other political opinion within the Tamil polity in Sri Lanka, in order to establish itself as the “sole representative” of the Tamil people. At the same time, it began to flex its muscles within the Tamil community in the west. In time its stranglehold over the diaspora communities – including through methods of intimidation, assault, and threats to families in Sri Lanka – became an accomplished fact. Paris and Toronto were prime examples of the phenomenon, where unquestioning compliance was demanded and wrought.”
 

Regarding the fund-raising opportunities ‘created’ by LTTE, she said, “The Tiger lobbyists, fundraisers and propagandists in the diaspora are relentless in attempting to enforce submission to its command performances. Even for events such as ‘martyrs’ day’ celebrations or the funeral of the LTTE ideologist Anton Balasingam, thousands are mobilised and bussed in. Every tragic event is turned into a fundraising opportunity.”
(http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/the-tamil-diaspora-solidarities-and-realities).
 

Meanwhile the death of Prabhakaran has caused divisions within the LTTE, one in support of K. Pathmanathan (KP), leader of LTTE’s international affairs including fund raising and arms purchasing, and the other against him. It is believed that KP has complete control of LTTE’s huge funds and assets like cargo ships, etc. The Sri Lankan government has sought international help to capture him. The LTTE’s intelligence wing led by Pottu Amman (it is not clear if he is dead or alive) is believed to be against Pathmanathan; the Sri Lankan Diaspora is also divided between these two, and this fight for power and leadership, and division in diaspora, have become a cause for concern for the Church, which has been the main force behind the LTTE.
 

In this connection, on 28 May 2009, Fr. Jegath Gasper Raj, a controversial Christian clergy and co-founder of the Chennai-based “Tamil Maiyyam,” sent an appeal through www.tamilcanadian.com to the Diaspora to unite so that a broader Tamil renaissance could be ‘ignited’. He said, “In the immediate next phase the Government of Sri Lanka will unleash a hidden war, more treacherous than the one it let loose in Mullaitivu, to break the unity and political consolidation of the Diaspora. I am sure the Diaspora has the moral capacities to withstand a dirty political war by the Sri Lankan Government. But what can shatter the hopes of a dignified political solution will be the unravelling of LTTE. Let’s concede that the massive military debacle would certainly have created serious gaps in LTTE’s command structure. I get a disturbing feeling that there is already an unseen power struggle among certain sections of the LTTE for the control of the organization and its vast resources. We can expect that intelligence agencies of various countries will welcome this development and do everything to hasten these divisions”.
(http://www.tamilcanadian.com/page.php?cat=357&id=5760
 

This letter clearly shows the Christian mind, which wants to keep the Diaspora under its control, worries about the power struggle in the LTTE, and doesn’t want the LTTE to unravel. Gaspar Raj is well connected with the ‘Dravidian’ politicians of Tamil Nadu, which goes to prove that the “Dravidian-Christian” nexus is the brain behind the call for separate “Tamil Eelam.” While the Christian leadership successfully alienates the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora from the Indian Tamil-Hindu Diaspora, the Dravidian leadership, which travels abroad to the west quite often, always makes it a point to visit only the Sri Lankan Tamils and not the Indian Tamils, who are normally seen with other “Hindu” communities of India.

Dubious Tamil organisations

The LTTE has many organizations in the name of Tamil, which act as fronts, indulging clandestinely in fund-raising and arms purchasing. When the FBI arrested some pro-LTTE activists in New York and New Jersey areas two years ago, the US authorities identified and cited the various proxy organizations of the LTTE in their criminal complaint in the district court in Brooklyn.

Ilankai Thamil Sangam, New Jersey; World Tamil Coordinating Committee (WTCC), New York; Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO), and Tamil Welfare and Human Rights Committee (TWHRC), Maryland were some of the organizations which helped the LTTE in fund-raising and arms purchasing activities. All these organizations have been cited in various chargesheets filed by US authorities in courts of law. These organizations are also part of “The Federation of Tamil Sangams,” founded in 1986, and comprising more than 30 Sangams (Associations) in the United States.

As “serving” the cause of “human rights” has always been a modus operandi of Christian missionaries, such human rights organizations based in the US have taken up the cause of the above-said Pro-LTTE Tamil organizations. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is believed to have fought against the American Judiciary and US Congress in support of these Tamil organizations which help LTTE achieve the hidden agenda. Similarly the California based Humanitarian Law Project and the Centre for Constitutional Rights (CCR) also supported these Tamil organizations. Nancy Chang, Senior Attorney at CCR, is an open LTTE supporter. Likewise, Professor David Cole of the George Town University Law School has been a spokesman for LTTE on American soil.
(http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/1733).
 

The above said ‘Tamil’ organizations have also been active in countries such as UK, Canada, France, Italy, Denmark and Australia, etc. The FBI has also accused the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora in Australia of helping the LTTE.
(http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_fbi-accuses-tamils-in-australia-of-helping-ltte_1050734 and http://www.priu.gov.lk/ltte_report/chapter7.html).
The Norway branch of the Tamil Coordinating Committee (TCC) admitted at a press conference on 13 June 2009 that it had been raising funds for LTTE to purchase arms and weapons (http://www.nowpublic.com/world/money-tiger-terror-came-norway-tcc).
 

The International Tamil Centre, another front organization of the LTTE, was started by one Dr. Winston Panchacharam of New York; it celebrated its third anniversary in Chennai on 8 June 2009. Dr. Winston Panchacharam brought two Americans with him, Bruce Fein, US lawyer and specialist in international law, counsel for Tamils against genocide; and Francis Boyle, American expert on international law, to ‘lecture’ on the occasion.

Sudha Ragunathan, a leading Carnatic singer and ‘local head’ of the ITC, organized the event along with her colleague and local secretary Manimekalai Kannan. The main speakers at the inaugural function were known ‘Dravidian’ ideologues Dr. Ramachandran, Vice Chancellor of Madras University and R.M. Veerappan, former minister and President of MGR Kazhagam. Though both speakers spoke about the glory and antiquity of Tamil language and Tamil culture, they refrained from talking about the Sri Lankan Tamil issue. As the theme of the conference was “Rehabilitation of Sri Lankan Tamils,” a seminar on the subject was held wherein Prof. V. Suryanarayan, South Asia and Southeast Asia specialist, and Bhagwan Singh, Consulting Editor, Deccan Chronicle, participated apart from the two Americans, Francis Boyle and Bruce Fein.

 
At the inauguration, both Dr. Ramachandran and R.M. Veerappan refrained from using the ‘H’ word (Hindu) despite waxing eloquent on the glory of Tamil language and culture. Similarly, in the seminar, none of the speakers mentioned the ‘Hinduness’ of Sri Lankan Tamils. They openly voiced concern for the cause of the LTTE, that is, a separate “Tamil Eelam.” They termed the Sri Lankan military operation against the LTTE as “genocide,” but preferred to remain silent on LTTE’s atrocities, particularly its use of innocent civilians as a ‘shield’ and forced recruitment of children as frontline soldiers and suicide bombers.

Both American speakers expressed ‘concern’ about the post-war scenario and power struggle and called for ‘unity’ among Tamils (read LTTE and Diaspora). They asked India to support the cause of separate Tamil Eelam. The ‘Liberation Song for Tamil Eelam’ was also sung by the organizers.
(http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1624605, http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1624968,
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1624952, http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1624911,
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1624753).
 

The International Tamil Centre has been classified as a charitable organisation (cultural and ethnic awareness) and has enjoyed tax exemption as of May 2002.
(http://www.taxexemptworld.com/organizations/nanuet-ny-new-york.asp). It is a wonder then that it celebrated its ‘third anniversary’ this year! The organisation’s website could not be accessed, as its security certificate is either invalid or expired. So it is not clear when this organization came into being and interestingly ‘Tamil Maiyyam’ was started in July 2002. The non-participation of ‘Tamil Maiyyam’ and the absence of Father Jagath Gaspar Raj were noticeable in the Chennai event marking the third anniversary of ITC.
 

Dubious organizations like International Tamil Centre and Tamil Maiyyam use a devious strategy of roping in famous personalities from the field of fine arts to participate in their events by pressurizing them using their political power, so that their events get some sort of genuineness and credibility. And if those personalities happen to be ‘faithful Hindus,’ it adds more value to the events. Such personalities become party to these events without knowing the hidden motives behind them.

Also, if such events are organized with the full support of the government of the day, these personalities participate out of fear as well! Tamil Maiyam has been organizing such events on a regular scale with the advent of the DMK government. It may be recalled that Tamil Maiyam’s Jagath Gaspar Raj was alleged to be an associate of Nachimuthu Socrates, who was arrested by FBI on charges of fund-raising for LTTE and bribing a US State Official to remove LTTE from the list of blacklisted organisations way back in 2006. The website http://socratesdefensefund.org/ is still alive to raise funds for his legal defense.
 

Towards the end of May 2009, The Times, London, reported that 20,000 civilians were killed during the final offensive by the Sri Lankan Army against the Tamil Tigers. This report came as a blessing in disguise for the ‘Tamil’ organizations which were sulking after the defeat of the LTTE, rejuvenating their blood and making them to conduct protest demonstrations in the respective host countries, demanding a thorough probe and necessary action against Sri Lanka for its ‘war crimes.’ In countries like UK and Canada, many parliamentarians came out in support of the demonstrators, who were obviously pro-LTTE.  

Sri Lanka vs. Western Nations

The Times’ report, which came after the official visit of UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to Sri Lanka, quoted two UN officials saying that Ban was aware of the death of 20,000 Tamil civilians. This report, along with a video clipping, raised a furore in the international arena, particularly among western nations which demanded a probe on the ‘war crimes’ of Sri Lanka.

The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) demand was rejected by the Sri Lankan government. When UNHRC convened a special session in Geneva, where Sri Lanka and the European nations led by Germany put out competing resolutions, the Sri Lankan resolution justifying its military action against the world’s biggest terrorist organization sailed through, defeating the European resolution for a thorough probe into the ‘war crimes’ of the Sri Lankan military. India supported Sri Lanka along with China, Russia and Pakistan.   
 

While slowly focusing on the rehabilitation of internally displaced Tamils, the Sri Lankan government is taking necessary action to thwart any attempts by the Tigers to regroup and restart terror activities. Colombo is determined to demolish the international network of arms and drug mafia with which the LTTE is widely connected. The government is aware of shady organizations having a foothold in countries like US, UK, Canada, France, Germany and other European capitals, indulging in fund-raising to revive the LTTE. As the Sri Lankan government requested help from the US and European countries to apprehend the concerned pro-LTTE persons and organizations, an LTTE operator Karunakaran Kandasamy and three others were arrested by US authorities.
 

But Colombo is unhappy with the non-cooperation of Canada and European countries like UK, France, Germany and others. These countries covertly encourage the Diaspora and other LTTE front organizations to protest against the Sri Lankan government and try to implicate Sri Lanka in ‘war crimes.’ The Sri Lankan government charged that demonstrations by diaspora in European countries were funded by the LTTE and aided and abetted by the host governments. Though US helped in taking legal action against pro-LTTE elements, it also joined European nations in their ‘measures’ against the Sri Lankan government.   
 

Even during the most recent operations, the Sri Lankan military is believed to have uncovered evidence of the connivance of NGOs and Human Rights Organisations (many owing allegiance to the UN) with Tigers in vehicle supply and material support. Very recently, the Army apprehended two UN staffers who were reported missing earlier. Reliable sources report that some Christian organizations have allegedly bribed individual military officials and managed to allow LTTE’s intelligence officers to escape from refugee camps and flee the country. In connection with this and other reports of clandestinely assisting the LTTE, seven army personnel have been detained by the Sri Lankan Military Intelligence Unit
(http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=29613).
 

Meanwhile, Selvarasan Pathmanathan, alias KP, set up a committee comprising mostly Christians to formulate the constitution of a ‘Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam’ (TGTE), with a view to fight for the self-determination of Sri Lankan Tamils and safeguard the interests of the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora. As he has been a proclaimed criminal and fugitive in Sri Lanka and is also wanted by Interpol, this initiative is intended to gain some kind of credibility in the international arena and to make the million strong diaspora fall in line behind him. He has been successful in roping in experts from various fields, who have been active in US, Canada, UK, Sweden, Australia, Malaysia and Netherlands giving ‘voice’ to the LTTE, as members of the committee. Prof. Francis Boyle, who was in Chennai in association with the International Tamil Centre, is a member of this committee. The Sri Lankan government has rejected this attempt of KP, terming it a ‘hallucination.’    
 

Considering the fact that western nations and the diaspora are trying to revive the call for separate Eelam by supporting the LTTE, despite its defeat and the elimination of Prabhakaran and the top leadership, Sri Lanka refused permission to the Tiger-sponsored relief carrying vessel MV Captain Ali after it entered Sri Lankan waters illegally. Though the ship was chartered in the name of “Mercy Mission to Vanni,” it was sponsored by an organization called “Act Now,” a pro-LTTE Christian organization. Ultimately due to the influence of the Indian government, Colombo agreed to accept the consignments through the Red Cross.   
 

The Church and other Christian organizations allegedly utilizing the Sinhala-Tamil divide, which is their own creation, have been supporting the LTTE to bring down the majority Buddhist religion and the largest minority Hindu religion. The LTTE is believed to have a large number of Christians highly placed in the hierarchy including the deceased Prabhakaran, Anton Balasingham and others; a considerable portion of supporting Tamils and Diaspora are also Christian. It is no secret that the LTTE has been backed by the Church and is part of a neo-colonial conspiracy; mainstream international media has conveniently forgotten to present LTTE’s Christian leanings. Many members of the Christian clergy have acted as front men for LTTE and Fr. S.J. Emmanuel, former Vicar General of Jaffna, is a prime example; at present he lives in Germany helping LTTE’s Eelam cause.
(http://freetruth.50webs.org/D4g.htm)
 

A Sri Lankan Tamil Hindu social worker, affiliated to ‘Seva Lanka,’ a national social service institution, who is helping the poor and downtrodden in Vavuniya and Kilinochchi revealed that, “Prabhakaran enforced burials to replace cremations, enforced Dravidian weddings to replace the Hindu marriage ceremony, introduced so called Dravidian names to replace Hindu names, and recommended beef eating.” He added, “He [Prabhakaran] was perhaps never in charge, as someone else shrewder was running the show and that individual or institution disappeared and Prabhakaran alone made mistake after mistake, leading to his eventual death”.

The social worker said the Bishop of Mannar, Rayappu Joseph, the Bishop of Jaffna, Thomas Savundranayagam, and the Bishop of Batticaloa, Kingsley Swampillai, exerted disproportionate influence on the LTTE and recalled that Prabhakaran named his son ‘Charles Anthony’ after his dead comrade, and Tamilchelvam (political commissar of the LTTE – original name Dinesh) named his son ‘Oliventhan,’ meaning prince of light (Jesus?) and his daughter ‘Alai Arasi,’ queen of the waves which is the name for Britannia, all Christian names in the garb of Tamil. The social worker painfully exclaimed, “Ironically most Tamils are Hindus!”

Meanwhile, Prof. P. Pushparatnam, Head of the Department of History, University of Jaffna, has found a 19th century Tamil-Christian epitaph on the tomb of one Ales Francis Cruz, died 1827. Prof. Pushparatnam read the text as “1827 (in Tamil numerals) Thai month 27th date (in Tamil numerals and symbols for month and date) Naakapad’nam Aariyar Ales Piraagnchis Kurus.”

It was a tomb of a Christian, Ales Francis Cruz, from Naakappadinam on the Coromandal coast of Tamil Nadu, who died on the 27th date of the Tamil month Thai (Jan-Feb) of the year 1827. The Professor referred to the 19th century dictionaries for the word “Aariyar” (Arya in Sanskrit) meaning “foreigner” or “a person of a foreign faith” and said, “the epitaph comes out with the title ‘Aariyar’ for the deceased probably to indicate his Christian faith, priesthood or to indicate that he was a Christian of foreign (European) origin even though coming from Naakappaddinam”.
(http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=29624)
 

This is clear evidence of the Church’s ‘Aryan-Dravidian’ propaganda in Tamil Nadu and also of its larger agenda and long-term plan of forming a “Tamil Christian Nation” comprising Tamil Nadu and the North-East of Sri Lanka. No wonder, this news is given importance and published in pro-LTTE website “Tamilnet”.
 

Conclusion
 

A deeper study of Sri Lankan history shows that the Sinhala-Tamil divide was created by the Portuguese after they landed on the shores of Sri Lanka. In due course of time, they captured the island nation and converted a large number of people, more Tamils than Sinhalese, as Tamils were weak and humble, without strong leadership. They demolished hundreds of Hindu Temples and Buddhist Viharas. Sri Lankan historians believe that the Island would have become completely Christian had the Portuguese continued. The Dutch and the British continued the evil legacy of the Portuguese and the same has been followed till date by the Church. The LTTE leadership, the Diaspora leadership, and the so-called ‘Tamil’ organizations are all under the control of Christian organizations backed by the Church.
 

Those ‘Tamil’ organizations have done nothing for the welfare of either the Sri Lankan Tamils or the Diaspora, but served only as ‘fronts’ for the LTTE, helping it in fund-raising and arms purchasing. Ironically, the majority of Sri Lankan Tamils and Sri Lankan Diaspora is “Hindu.” While Tamil Hindus in Sri Lanka have been released and relieved from the LTTE and the Church, thanks to the determined efforts of the Rajapakse government, the ‘Hindu’ section of the Diaspora is still in the clutches of the LTTE and the Church. As the Church is aware of its limitations within the island nation, it is using its might to the full to revive the LTTE and keep the Eelam cause alive by egging on the Diaspora with the support of governments in various western countries.  
 

Make no mistake; LTTE and Eelam are purely ‘Christian;’ nothing ‘Hindu’ or ‘Tamil’ about them.
 

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